You Caught It, Now What?
The Gulf of Mexico is an angler’s dream come true.
Whether you’re on an Orange Beach deep sea fishing trip or trolling around the back bays, fishing is one of the most popular Alabama Gulf Coast pastimes.
Picture yourself fishing aboard one of the local charter fishing boats, reeling in the big one. You caught it, so now what?
Your options include cooking your fresh catch yourself, having a local chef prepare it for you at a cook-your-catch restaurant, or simply freezing it so you can enjoy it at a later date.
If you opt for preparing your fresh catch at home or in your beach vacation rental, try this healthy option that’s just as delicious as frying your fish. This recipe is courtesy of Tammie Beatty.
Oven Fried Fish
Ingredients
Boneless fish
Mustard
Italian bread crumbs
Directions
Marinate the fish in mustard for 30 minutes and coat it in bread crumbs. Bake the fish on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil (lightly sprayed with non-stick spray) at 425 degrees for approximately 25 minutes.
After a fishing-filled “day at sea” (it’s really the Gulf), you may not be up for turning on a hot stove or heating up the grill. If you’d rather relax and have someone else prepare your fresh catch, take your fish to one of the many “you hook it, we cook it” restaurants located in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.
Beach restaurants make it REEL convenient to bring in fresh catches and have them prepared to your liking. Grilled, fried, smoked, sautéed and blackened are common ways, but ask about having it stuffed with a crabmeat dressing or a Florentine with a cream sauce. Be sure to call ahead and inform the chef you’ll be bringing in your fresh catch.
If you were fortunate enough to hit the jackpot and have more fish than you can eat in one trip, you may want to consider freezing the extra. Avid inshore, offshore and big-game fisherman Jim Cox recommends vacuum-sealing fresh fish and writing the date and species on the bag.
There are certain fish that are best to catch during specific times of year, so it’s good to know what to catch and when. Some of the more popular Gulf Shores and Orange Beach fish caught off the coast are red snapper, grouper, amberjack, mahi mahi and yellowfin tuna.
For more information on fishing the waters of the Alabama Gulf Coast, follow along on our fishing blog.
